I am signing at Barnes and Noble on Saturday, August 24. Oprah once signed at a Barnes and Noble in LA, Jennifer Garner, the current wife of the new Batman, Ben Affleck, signed there as well during the height of her Alias fame. How do I know? Well, both of them had billboards on Beverly Boulevard advertising their signings. Well, I won't be having a billboard promoting my signing. I won't need one.
I will be sitting in front of the doorway. There will be a little sign advertising that I am an author, and yet some people will still think that I work as a security guard for the mall and ask directions for the bathroom or for JC Penney. I make it a point to talk in a soft voice and tell them about my latest book. This time, I will still be promoting Rattlesnake Wedding. I bill the book as a romantic legal thriller set in New Mexico. If someone says that they haven't heard of the book, I usually make a joke--"That's my fault, not yours." I don't really get the joke either, but it breaks the ice.
Depending on the crowd, the economy, and my attitude, I will sell anywhere from 20 to 50 books. I do best on cloudy days with no rain. August is usually a very good month for me as is November. No matter how well I am doing there will always be a "lull" a thirty minute to an hour span where I do not sell a single book, no matter what I say. I will always go into a minor depression, wondering why I ever became an author. Out of nowhere, someone that I don't expect will buy a book and I will be back to being as book selling machine.
When I've traveled to a Barnes and Noble in Boulder, I've once placed an ad in a local paper and spent two hundred dollars. That ad didn't lead to a single sale. I actually sold more the next night in Broomfield without any advertising at all. I did get a few people show up when I had a full page write-up in a paper.
I have been profiled on local TV show here in town, but that didn't lead to any sales. So, I'm on my own tomorrow.
What would happen if I had a billboard like Oprah or Mrs Batman? I don't think that would necessarily lead to a line out the door. Still it would be nice . . .If Oprah or Batman himself want to give a plug to my book, I'm certainly not going to say no.
See you tomorrow.
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